A Boston gallerist, accustomed to spending summers on Cape Cod, was invited by friends to Maine. Not long into her stay, she declared, “The Cape is so over!” Not to disparage a perfectly fine Massachusetts destination, but time and again art-minded people — makers, seekers, and sellers alike — find themselves captivated by Maine, New England’s largest state. The pleasures of its natural beauty alone are an elixir. There are five dozen named mountains and five thousand officially registered islands to explore along its famously rocky coastline, while its rivers, lakes, and ponds, great and small, are simply uncountable. Yet so-called Vacationland offers much more.
Wherever art-minded people gather, museums, galleries, colonies, schools, and other art venues always follow. That’s what happened in Maine, starting in the late 19th century…